Watch this landing!

Would you attempt the landing and takeoff inthis video?

  • NO WAY!

    Votes: 28 52.8%

  • YES! Bring it on!

    Votes: 19 35.8%

  • Only if you paid me $2 million dollars

    Votes: 6 11.3%
  • Total voters
    53
What would be the point?
 
I think it's actually safer than it first looks. The most dangerous thing he could do is to undershoot the landing. If he overshoots, so what--he rolls down the mountain side just like he did taking off, takes off, and tries again (or gets so freaked out that he goes home). If he undershoots, however, he risks going down the mountain backwards, which is something airplanes--even super cubs--were never meant to do. I'm not sure what the thrust to weight ratio of a super cub is nor the angle of that incline, but he might even be able to overcome that with a judicious blast of throttle.

That being said, I don't think I'd ever do it...and my flame suit is on just in case.
 
teethdoc said:
The question is why?
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1. Because he can and it does make a cool video.
2. It gives us Aviation nerds something to comment on instead of doing something more "productive" on a Saturday night.
 
Skylane81E said:
If I was proficient with a supercub, sure
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+1 :yes:

No problem. We don't have mountains around here, but I've landed UL's on sand bars on the Platte river, and other off field areas for fun. Once you know what the limits of the plane is you are good to go.
 
Skylane81E said:
Honestly given the actual landing area available vs area used I'd wager that you could even land some bigger ships there if you desired/needed.
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Yep. And it certainly wasn't the first time landing there. If I interpret the video correctly you can hear him fighting through sink (wind coming overr the peak then back down) as he nears the plateau.
 
The guy is a great pilot but about a week after that a helicopter had to get the Cub off a mountain when he flipped it on its back. Don
 
jpower said:
I think it's actually safer than it first looks. The most dangerous thing he could do is to undershoot the landing.
Click to expand...
All I could think about when he was on approach was, "Wow. This guy is WAY behind the power curve, and if his engine decides to quit right now he's completely screwed with no Plan B".

But I see people do crazy stuff with those planes. I don't know that I ever would. Not my style and the risk seems a bit higher than I'd voluntarily take on.
 
Solid strong head wind and instant flying energy/altitude on an over run? No worries.
 
There are perspectives in flight that are deceiving because of the amount of empty space between you and the ground. In this example there aren't any obstacles and the abort/go around options are virtually unlimited - it's open air, downhill in every direction.

Still, there are possibilities of a horrible catastrophe and even a minor mishap could be troublesome because I'm not convinced that this guy has a spotter with him, has told anyone exactly where he's going or has reconnoitered the prospect of hiking down from that spot on foot.

This one is probably more hairy but it's done daily with paying passengers onboard.

Lukla approach
 
I am constantly amazed by questions like these. I am betting that no rational pilot who wasn't proficient in the machine would not try this. But it is obviously within the performance envelope of the machine and the skill set of the pilot. Not a big deal really. What the vast majority of the GA population do not understand is that a capable machine in the hands of a skilled pilot will do much much more than land on a long wide runway and taxi to the hamburger. :yesnod:
 
yakdriver said:
The guy is a great pilot but about a week after that a helicopter had to get the Cub off a mountain when he flipped it on its back. Don
Click to expand...

Have to retract that. There was another video that looked almost identical and that guy was the one that flipped his Cub. This one is Joe "Pops" Dory a ledgend in Nevada and Idaho. Don
 
Might have been a bit of a problem if the engine decided not to start up again.
 
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